Thirty years after their initial release, I was finally introduced to the band Suicide and their self-titled debut album. I can either beat myself up for not knowing about them for thirty years or be glad that it wasn't thirty-one years. Not sure which to go with yet.
Suicide was a two man band with Alan Vega singing while Martin Rev pumped out the beats and synth keys. Here are the two things that struck me about them.
1) This album could have been released last week and the blogosphere would be raving about it. It would fit right in with the current electronica and synthesizer sound that so many bands are trotting out these days. Conversely, it must have completely freaked out the kiddies/program directors dining on Fleetwood Mac, Eagles and The Steve Miller Band in 1977.
2) Now I know where Yo La Tengo gets a lot of their sound and more specifically, where Ira Kaplan gets a lot of his vocal style. It's to the point that I actually started to wonder (and google) if YLT's "Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop" was actually a cover of a Suicide tune.
So, if you're a fan of dark electronica or Yo La Tengo, I'd suggest going backwards thirty years.
Suicide | Ghost Rider | Buy
Suicide | Cheree (remix) | Buy
Yo La Tengo | Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop | Buy
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Suicide
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3 comments:
They played South Street Seaport earlier this year...heard they were pretty great.
I guess I shouldn't be referring to them in the past tense.
Chris Brokaw's cover of Suicide's "I Remember" is one of those rare covers that far outshines the original, in my humble and biased opinion.
Mike D
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